Man to serve 15 months for sex with a minor

A 22-year-old man was sentenced today in Superior Court to 15 months in prison, 10 years of strict probation and registry as a sexual offender for having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl in March 2012.

Zachary Smart had pleaded guilty to risk of injury to a minor.

Smart was living with a Griswold area family when he began having sex with a child in the home. The girl's mother reported Smart after learning of the relationship, according to prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman.

"According to the police reports, none of this was his idea," said his attorney, Kevin C. Barrs. "It was the victim's idea."

Smart has been held in lieu of $120,000 bond since he was arrested in August 2012 and is being housed at the New Haven Correctional Center, according to Department of Correction records.

Barrs said Smart is hoping to move to North Carolina when he is released from prison and is working toward an advanced welding certificate.

"There's no claim there was any force here," Judge Susan B. Handy told Smart. "However, as I'm sure Mr. Barrs has pointed out, a 13-year-old has no legal right to consent to sex."